Anderson Advances Past Hanover to HCAC Championship Game

The second-seeded Anderson University men's basketball team (17-9) advanced past third-seeded Hanover College (17-10) by a score of 72-63 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Tournament Semifinals on Friday in North Manchester.

In the second semifinal, fourth-seeded Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (17-10) knocked off top-seeded Manchester University (16-10) by a score of 66-63. Anderson and Rose-Hulman clash in the HCAC Championship game on Saturday at 6 p.m. in North Manchester.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Tate Ivanyo hit an early 3-pointer to give Anderson a 7-3 lead with 17 minutes, 2 seconds left in the first half.
• Max Greenamoyer drained a 3-pointer to even the score at 13-13. Brice Gilman knocked down a 3-pointer on the following possession to give the Panthers a 16-13 lead with 13:01 left in the first half.
• On the following possession, Elijah Mattingly hit a 3-pointer to even the score at 16-16.
• Both teams went 2:26 without scoring until Hanover's Jack Wininger provided a 3-pointer as Hanover took a 19-16 lead with 10:19 to go.
• Hanover steadily built a 25-20 lead with 3-pointers from Kyle Crim and Wininger. The Ravens were held to four points in a 5:50 stretch.
• Mattingly completed the bucket-and-1 to trim Hanover's lead to 26-25 with 3:43 left in the first half.
• Matt Munoz added a layup for the Panthers, but Ivanyo knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 28-28 with 2:25 left in the first half.
• Camden Smith hit a pull-up jumper to put Anderson ahead 30-28 with 1:34 left in the first half, capping off a 10-3 run.
• Ty Houston made a layup to tie the game at 30-30. Smith hit two free throws, but Houston added another layup to tie game at 32-32 in the final seconds of the first half.
• As the contest continued to go back and forth, both teams stayed within two points of each other for the final 2:25 of the first half and the first 6:05 of the second half. Ivanyo made a basket to give Anderson a 42-38 lead.
• Hanover took a 44-42 lead with 12:43 to go following a bucket-and-1 from Houston and a 3-pointer from Wininger.
• The Ravens pulled ahead 48-44 with consecutive layups from Gavin Dowling, Bryson Huckeby and Smith.
• Greenamoyer hit a 3-pointer to cut Hanover's deficit to one point.
• Smith drained a shot from the perimeter to give the Ravens a 53-49 advantage with 9:42 to go.
• Houston hit a 3-pointer, but Jordan Gadis put Anderson up by four with 7:48 to go with a 3-pointer of his own.
• Mattingly provided a 3-pointer to give the Ravens a 59-54 lead with 7:08 to go.
• The Ravens built a 63-56 lead with 5:11 to go, following consecutive buckets from Ivanyo and Huckeby. Anderson outscored Hanover 9-7 for the remainder of the game.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Anderson outrebounded Hanover 38-28. Despite only having a +1 advantage in the offensive boards, the Ravens outscored the Panthers 11-0 on second-chance points.
• The Ravens converted 28-of-56 (50 percent) shots from the field while the Panthers hit 24-of-60 (40 percent) attempts from the floor.
• Anderson and Hanover combined to a total of just 12 turnovers in the game.
• The Ravens made 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) attempts from the free-throw line while the Panthers hit 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) shots from the charity stripe.
• Hanover knocked down 10-of-28 (35.7 percent) shots from 3-point range while Anderson made 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) attempts from the perimeter.
• Camden Smith – 19 Points, 7/10 (70%) FG
• Tate Ivanyo – 16 Points
• Elijah Mattingly – 14 Points, 9 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 2 Blocks
• Bryson Huckeby – 10 Points, 9 Rebounds
• Gavin Dowling – 8 Points
• Jordan Gadis – 5 Points

COACH CARTER COLLINS'S COMMENTS

I'm really proud of our effort in the second half - particularly in the last ten minutes. I didn't think we played very well in the first half, but we made enough plays to find ourselves tied up at the break. I thought almost everybody that took the court in the second half made their own personal mark on the game - and that's the type of effort it takes to win tournament games. We have a quick turnaround as we look to go for the Tournament Championship [Saturday] evening.